At Rotary on March 31, 2023, Club President Andrew Johnson highlighted this week’s announcement from the Vatican that they are repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery. He read aloud the following news report.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/vatican-reject-discovery-doctrine-indigenous-demands-1.6795728
Invoking the Christian mandate to respect the dignity of every human being, the Vatican said on Thursday, "The Catholic Church therefore repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political 'doctrine of discovery.' "
The Church also said it stands with Indigenous peoples now and strongly supports the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which it says can help protect Indigenous rights as well as improving living conditions and development "in a way that respects their identity, language and culture."
The Vatican also invoked the pope's words from his visit to Canada last year: "Never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing others."